Intro To Program Design

Introduction to Program Design By David Cherry

Summary
Preparing to design your program
Designing your activity continuum
Writing your funding request

About Me
Grant Writer for more than 5 years
Wrote/submitted more than 100 requests
Secured more than $6 million
Authored strategic plans
Focused on organizational development

Prepare to Design

Ex Post Facto Design
Plan and design before writing
Creative writers can frame unruly programs

Getting Started
Discuss need, resources, environment, values, and priorities
Tool: SWOT Analysis
Define your vision

Visioning
A vision is a present tense statement of your dream world
It guides program development
It is NOT your mission statement
Ask, “How do we want the world to be different in three to five years?”

Vision Statements
“ All people are valued community assets”
“ Homeless people have safe and stable housing”
“ Children are properly nourished”
“ Whales live safe and happy lives in the ocean.”

Activity Continuums

Activity Continuums
Missions, goals, objectives, strategies and activities are all actions, along a continuum, related by varying degrees of specificity
Understanding your agency’s continuum and highlighting parts relevant to the grant is essential to meeting funders needs

Mission
Your mission statement tells people what you do to achieve your vision
Its only one part of achieving the vision - others are needed, too
It should be simple, general, and concise
Staff should be able to recite it from memory

Mission Statements
“ Help people thrive in home, school, work, and community life”
“ Provide relief to victims of disaster and help people prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies”
“ Do as much as we can for as many as we can” (Bad mission statement)

Goals
General things you do to fulfill your mission
Inverse of outcomes
Save the whales - The whales are saved
You shouldn’t have many of these, maybe 1-7, tops

Goal Statements
“ Improve school readiness of children ages 0 to 5”
“ Help the homeless find permanent supportive housing”
“ Advocate for whales in Congress”

Objectives
Things you will do to achieve your goals
Less specific than strategies, activities
Include dates, amounts of impact

Objective Statements
“ Increase the amount of time parents read to their kids by 10 percent by October 1st. “
“ Decrease substance abuse among chronically homeless by 5 percent”
“ Increase the number of hearings about whales in the Senate”

Strategies
How you will achieve your objectives
More specific than actions, less specific than objectives
General types of actions you will take

Strategy Statements
“ Engage parents in summer reading program”
“ Deliver substance abuse treatment at area homeless shelters”
“ Lobby Senate leaders on behalf of whales”

Actions
Most specific description of activities you will carry out
Used when most detail is necessary
Often helpful regarding start up phase
Often hard to differentiate w/strategies

Action Statements
“ Hire and train project staff”
“ Develop website”
“ Conduct audit of agency programs”

Sample Activity Continuum
Mission: Help children grow into successful adults
Goal: Prepare young children for school success
Objective: Increase early literacy of 4 year olds by 10 percent by August 2009
Strategy: Provide parents of at-risk young children with literacy flashcards and encourage their use
Action: Create literacy flashcards

From General to Specific Mission Goals Objectives Strategies Activities General Action Specific Action

Continuum to Logic Model Inputs Activities Outputs Immediate Outcomes Mid-Range Outcomes Long Term Outcomes Clients Staff Funding Partners Facilities Curricula Supplies Children grow into success-ful adults Children prepared for school success Adults maintain stable families Early literacy increased among 4 year olds Home health hazards removed from homes Provide parents with flash cards Read to children regularly 15 families receive flash cards Children read to for 15 minutes 5 times per week

Collaboration and Sustainability

Collaboration
Funders like collaboration
Partners are like collateral
You need partners to achieve your vision
Collaboration is hard work and requires capacity

Collaboration Continuum
Cooperate
Coordinate
Collaborate
Joint Program or Administration
Merger

Cooking with Collaboration
Bring a dish to pass
Bring a Mexican dish
Bring a Mexican desert
Come over and cook with me
Marry me and cook with me

Sustainability
Grants run out; tell funders how you will keep good work going
Products that last are sustainable
Information discovered is sustainable
Capacity and experience lend to your credibility

$ustainability Plans
Individual Giving
Organizational Giving
Corporate, foundation, government
Event-based
Earned Income
Other

Common Grant Format

Format Summary
Executive Summary
Need Statement
Purpose or Description
Evaluation Plan
Budget and Narrative
Organizational Information
Attachments

Strunk and White
Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell.

Executive Summary
One to two pages
Touch hearts and minds
Summarize need
Summarize project
Include goals and expected impact
List partners
Identify request amount

Needs Statement
Describe the problem or situation you will address
Start general and get more specific
Describe target population, geography
Include data and anecdotes
Be urgent but possible
Grab heartstrings

Purpose/Description
Tell them how you will address need
Include goals, measurable objectives, and activities
Include implementation timeline
Discuss collaboration and sustainability
Stand out from your competitors

Evaluation
Always describe plans to evaluate
Identify indicators for every objectives
Tell how you will gather, analyze data
Be quantitative and qualitative
Make a logic model before you start
Use evaluation resources

Measurement Plan Outcome Indicators Targets Data Source Collection Method When to Measure Inverse of objectives The amount of time parents read to their kids increases How often will you collect and analyze data? Monthly Quarterly How will you gather data? Daily sign in sheets Where will you get this data from? Sign in sheets What will tell you that you have had success? # served % helped Quantit-ative or Qualitative achieve-ment you are shooting for 9 served 2% helped

Budget & Budget Narrative
Plan your budget before you write your grant
Be sure to follow prescribed format
Understand what goes in what category
Yours should be part of a bigger pie
Identify in-kind, leveraged funds
Don’t be afraid to ask for help

Budget Categories
Staff
Fringes
Travel
Supplies
Equipment
Construction
Consultants
Other
Admin/Indirects

Organizational Information
Vision and Mission
History
Values, beliefs
Describe your service array
Goals, objectives
Impact and return on investment
Be relevant to your proposal

Common Attachments
Tax exempt designation
Board Roster
Recent Audit
Recent Brochure
Logic Model
Evaluation Plan

Contact Info
David Cherry
Program Development Officer
The Guidance Center
13101 Allen Rd.
Southgate, MI 48195
734-785-7700 x. 7081
[email_address]

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